Ramen Addiction
by Mademoiselle Anime Amour
Summary: Naruto just can't get enough of that ramen...or sometimes thinking about a certain girl. Written as a b-day dedication to Wolf Warrior. Implied NaruHina. R&R please!


**A/N: Hi, everybody! I decided to post this short, random one-shot today in honor of my friend Wolf Warrior's b-day! ^_^ Wolf Warrior is an anonymous reviewer of mine, as well as one of my best friends in the universe. I know I should be updating my two other stories instead of making one-shots, but I'm not that great at updating sometimes.**

**Anyway, Wolf Warrior, if you're reading this, have a happy birthday!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto in any way, shape, or form. Except two volumes of manga, but that's about it.**

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**Ramen Addiction**

Somewhat weary from his mission that day, Naruto walked down the streets of the Hidden Leaf Village toward his favorite place: the ramen kiosk. He could already taste the salty flavor of the noodles in his mouth. His excitement escalated once he arrived at the kiosk, the chef asking rhetorically, "Now, how did I know you would show up here, Naruto?"

The fifteen-year-old boy's famous grin practically took over his face as he replied, "I'll just have the usual!"

Nodding, the chef made crafted the special cake that young Uzumaki so loved, placing the noodles inside. The delicious aroma from the kiosk entranced the boy in the mean time as he thought of eating his beloved ramen after a long day of putting up with arguments with Kiba. That hard mission had almost rendered him cranky.

As the chef placed his order in one of the bowls, Naruto's thoughts then briefly (ever so briefly) turned to Hinata. Maybe, he figured, he should acknowledge her more—she was kind of cute, after all. The way her gray eyes sparkled whenever he went on a mission with Team 8 seemed attractive enough...

But, of course, the scent of his ramen distracted him before he could think of the shy girl further. Shinobi have to eat after all, according to his philosophy. Though, in his case, he just liked to stuff his face with food all the time. As he did so, he noticed Sakura seating herself on a stool at the opposite end. Normally, he would have conversed with her if not for the fact that a bowl of ramen was soon placed before her. And, since Naruto felt exceptionally hungry this evening, he didn't care about whose food he would eat. He had already finished his portion of ramen, so why not resort to stealing? His stomach had as yet been satisfied; he wanted more, he _needed _more.

Luckily, the opportunity to obtain Sakura's portion of that tasty entrée came when Kiba acknowledged her by greeting with, "Hey, Sakura, what's up?"

"Nothing much, Kiba," she replied promptly, temporarily abandoning her food to approach him. "How was that mission?"

"Hectic as usual. If Naruto hadn't messed up ninety nine point nine percent of it, then we wouldn't have wound up getting yelled at by Tsunade...again," he said as though apathetic to this. After all, Naruto _not _messing up a mission would have definitely marked the arrival of Armageddon. It was also common that the aspiring hokage liked picking fights with people, or so it seemed.

Meanwhile, Naruto glanced over at Sakura, who at this point talked avidly with Kiba, and then back at her bowl of food. This served as his chance to get what he wanted. Sneakily, when he ensured that the chef had turned his back, he slowly inched his arm toward the ramen, of which he could never have enough. He and ramen went way back—if anything, they were best friends. Oddly so, but he thought they had befriended each other nonetheless. Surely, now his inanimate, delectable friend wouldn't mind ending up inside his mouth. Naruto's hunger had reached extremes due to that arduous mission. Why did they have to travel through a desert of all places? The mirages he had kept seeing consisted of bowls of ramen that tasted so delicious, no matter whose it was.

His hand had grabbed the rim of the bowl when he heard the angry yet common shout of, "NARUTOOOOO!"

Caught in the act! Regretting his decision immediately, he decided to grin and feign his innocence. He always acted, regardless of its effective rate, which had so far been zero percent. He could try, right?

"Um, hey, Sakura. I didn't know you were eating that, heh-heh."

She glared at him with her aquamarine eyes and tossed back what little pink hair she possessed. "You're gonna pay for that, you little liar!"

Thus, the chase throughout the village commenced, though between the two of them, it was a daily affair. Naruto never ceased to make Sakura angry.

Practically reaching a dead end, the blond shinobi didn't know what had happened until he found himself crashing against something else. When his shocked blue eyes peered over who he had ran into, he glimpsed a nervous pair of gray eyes staring straight back at him. Hinata had just been occupied in walking home, when her crush toppled into her. This reminded her of the time that he greeted her hanging upside down. What an embarrassing situation that had been! But, she hardly minded this now, despite the obvious red in her face. She had always liked Naruto and would keep doing so even if he found someone else.

Naruto, in the mean time, realized that Hinata possessed the most beautiful eyes in the world, more so than Sakura. Maybe he should change his mind when it came to on whom he had an infatuation. Sakura had Sasuke before the latter left. Who was he, the goofball, to mess with an obvious relationship with that?

For the first time, he suddenly wondered if he was meant to be with Hinata.

That thought soon left his mind when she stuttered shyly, "Um, N—Naruto, y—you're st—still—"

He cut her off before she finished her sentence, as was typical from him. "I know. Heh, sorry Hinata! You know how angry Sakura can be."

"Y—Yes," was all that came from her lips as Naruto peered over his shoulder. The furious Sakura stood right behind him, flexing her arm muscles as she prepared herself for an insane fight of epic proportions.

"I gotta go. Bye!" Naruto shouted as he nearly panicked from the sight he had just beheld.

Though he ran off, Hinata continued on her way home, trying to decipher for herself the look she had seen in her crush's beautiful blue eyes.

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**A/N: OK, so technically, this wasn't a pairing...but it was supposed to be implied, believe me! My friend has NaruHina sympathies, as do I. I hope you guys liked this one-shot, even though it was rather short.**

**REVIEW PLEASE! That is all I ask.**


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